The topic of this blog: The Urban Form and Its Role in Colonization
My name is Jennifer Fraser and I am a mature student at Western University finishing my studies in Art History and Criticism. This blog is created as a class assignment to further enable me to understand the nature of Architecture in an urban environment. I have recently completed a course in Ancient Cities and am interested in how urban development has changed or perhaps has stayed the same throughout our collective histories. The posts that will follow will deal with eight specified topics. Topics ranging from situated architectural programs within Rome, Algeria, Peru, Spain, The United States of America, Canada and The full North American Grid. I hope that once the course is completed I will be able to write clear and concise critiques of urban life and all it entails.
I have chosen to introduce my blog with three images of the Princess Theatre in Edmonton Alberta. The Princess was built in 1915, and re-imagined as a movie theatre in the 1970s. As a child I would visit the Princess on, what I would lovingly refer to as, Special Saturdays. Saturdays I would spend going to see a film, then meeting my parents for tea at a local shop named Hanratty's and afterwards we would venture down to the corner bookshop and browse for the latest novels that caught my fancy. I have chosen these images because it is the first urban form I was aware of, outside of my home, and one that I remember fondly and still with a sense of belonging whenever it is thought of.
As a child I watched many films here. Two of the most intriguing, and somewhat frightening were The Dark Crystal and David Bowie in Labyrinth. Well suited films for a discussion on urbanism and issues of the other/ the stranger. We move in and out of forms constantly, yet do we ever stop to understand how these movements affect us as individuals and as a part of a larger community. I am excited to be in this class to dive into these issues.
Jennifer Fraser
Unknown, The Princess Theatre 1915 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Theatre_(Edmonton) accessed January 13 2013
Unknown, The Princess Theatre c.2008 http://edmonton-daily-photo.blogspot.ca/2008_08_01_archive.html accessed January 13 2013
Thank you for setting up your page and I look forward to its progress!
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